Coast to Coast
by Addicted1
Summary: AU: What if Derek had been called to New York for a consult a week before Richard called Addison to Seattle? Canon through Save Me ep. 1.8. Ship undecided.-Apologies, but this is unlikely to be continued. Maybe in 2014.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, particularly anything related to _Grey's Anatomy_ or _Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day_.

A/N: This is my first attempt at an actual chapter story. I haven't done much of a read through at all, and I could even be writing myself into a corner, but I wanted to post this before I chickened out. Feedback would be welcome (and would probably motivate me to update sooner). For those of you that are serious shippers, I honestly haven't decided who is ending up with whom, but I do intend a happy ending for as many characters as the story will allow. (What can I say, sometimes it just ends up writing itself.) For those of you that reviewed my previous Grey's Anatomy one-shot, thank you very much. It was wonderful to know that there are like-minded viewers out there! I do plan on doing something else using the plotline of that story, but it is on the backburner for now. Okay, now, on with the story:

"How was your flight?"

"Delayed an hour, but otherwise not bad."

"Oh, I'm sorry Derek, but at least you made it."

"Yeah. Really not a bad flight delay considering Seattle weather."

"That's true. I remember Christmas break, my junior year of college, when I actually came home for once, we were delayed in Seattle for seven hours, and then, once we got in the air, a blizzard moved over Burlington, so our flight was redirected to Washington, DC. I ended up just giving up on the flying concept and renting a car. It was disastrous."

Derek chuckled at the memory.

"I miss you already," Meredith blurted after a slight pause.

"Yeah. Me too," Derek responded. "But I should only be out here a couple of days, and we'll be back in the trailer before you know it."

"We'd better," Meredith replied.

"Ha," Derek laughed. "Well, I should go. I want to check into my hotel before heading over to the hospital."

"Okay."

"Okay. Bye, Meredith"

"Bye, Derek."

"I'll talk to you tonight."

"Okay."

Derek hung up the phone and sighed. He was not ready to be back in New York.

x x x x x

"Addison."

Head down, eyes straight ahead, Addison continued her brisk pace down the hallway.

"Addie, wait." She heard him jogging behind her; she moved faster. "Addison!" His hand was on her arm, and he had spun her around to face him.

She jerked her arm from his grasp. "Not now, Mark. Not here," and she began walking away again.

Before she knew it, he had pulled her into an on-call room, occupied by five exhausted-looking interns. One well-executed glare by the feared Dr. Mark Sloan, however, had them scurrying to the door.

She sighed. "Great, Mark, just what I need in my life right now. More gossip."

"Addison . . . ."

"What, Mark?" she yelled. "What do you want from me?"

Before she could even finish her tirade, his arm was around her waist, his other hand in her hair, and his mouth was eating her words. She responded before she could help it—mostly out of habit and shock—but then shoved him away, hard against the wall.

"You can get that from anyone, Mark. And from what I've been hearing, you do." Giving him one last look, of what exactly Mark could not be sure, she left the room.

x x x x x

"So," Izzie sidled up to Meredith in the locker room, "Where was McDreamy this morning? I had his muesli all ready, but I never saw him."

"He had to go to New York for a consult for a couple of days. He'll be back on Friday."

"Does that mean you'll actually join us for drinks tonight?" Christina asked.

"Come on. I hardly ever miss drinks with you guys." Incredulous scoffs were heard around the room.

"Right. My mistake," Christina countered. "How many times have you come to Joe's with us since you and McDreamy started sleeping over?"

Meredith opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it, knowing that the answer was zero, but refusing to give Christina the satisfaction of saying it out loud. She settled for "Oh whatever. I'm going tonight, so leave me alone."

Christina smirked victoriously until she looked for the clock and leapt to her feet, realizing that they were late for Bailey.

x x x x x

"Thanks for coming, Derek." Dr. Wester shook Derek's hand warmly.

"It's the least I could do, Brian," Derek responded, marveling at how little had actually changed in his former boss's office. "After all, you did let me leave New York without suing me for breach of contract."

Brian laughed, "Don't kid yourself, Derek, I would have sued you in a heartbeat if you hadn't found someone to replace you, and been so pathetic. Mostly, it was because you were so pathetic."

The two laughed, easily slipping back into the comfortable camaraderie that had marked the seven years of their working relationship. It hadn't been easy for Derek to decide to quit, and it had been even harder for him to break the news to Brian, and now he was remembering why.

"In all seriousness, though," Brian said. "I really do appreciate you coming. I know that New York isn't exactly on your list of top ten vacation spots right now, but I really wanted you here. I needed the best."

"It's not a problem, Brian," Derek said, not wanting to linger on his reasons for not wanting to be in New York City. "Now, on the phone you mentioned that you needed me to replace the shunt in a patient with hydrocephalus, but that there were some special circumstances . . . ."

"Yes, well," Brian shifted uncomfortably. "It's my niece. You placed the original shunt two years ago when she was born, but she started having seizures earlier this week, so we did a CT and confirmed that she has outgrown the current shunt and needs a new one."

"Right." Derek said, remembering the case. It had been one of his and Addie's greatest collaborations. Brian's sister, Sarah, had had a very difficult pregnancy, and Addison ended up having to perform an emergency C-section six weeks before the due date. Then, in addition to all the other complications arising from a premature delivery, the two of them noticed a build-up of fluid in the baby's brain. Due to skillful work on the part of both the Dr. Shepherds, as well as the providence of God, Annie, Sarah's daughter, had not only survived the surgery inserting the shunt into her brain, but had also been developing normally since then, a miracle in and of itself.

Derek knew now though, as much as he had hoped to avoid seeing Addison during these couple days in New York, that it was not going to happen. There was no way that he could perform surgery on Annie and not see Addison.

"The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow?" Derek asked.

"At one," Brian affirmed.

"Well, take me to her," Derek may not want to see his wife, but he was not going to let that affect his responsibility to his patient.

x x x x x

"Yang, O'Malley, Grey," Bailey called out the interns' names. "You'll be covering the pit."

"All three of us?" Christina questioned.

"I know you aren't questioning my judgment," Bailey leveled an intimidating look at the intern, "but, yes, all three of you. Four of the local high schools had their proms last night, so the floor is going to be flooded with 'morning after' injuries."

"Karev," she continued, "labs." Alex rolled his eyes, which Bailey chose to ignore as she continued, "and, Stevens, you'll be running the code team."

"Me, run the code team?" Izzie reacted. "But, I became a doctor to help people, not to watch them die."

"Yes, you." Bailey responded. "You get too attached to your patients, and sometimes part of being a doctor is letting the patient go. Now, I'm sick of all this back-talk. Stop standing there and go be doctors." And with that command and a wave of her hand, the interns disbursed.

x x x x x

"Here we are, room 814," Brian motioned toward the door for Derek.

Derek took a deep breathe, "Good air in, bad air out," he thought, and he pushed the door open.

"That's what it was," he heard Addison reading, "because after school my mom took us all to the dentist and Dr. Fields found a cavity just in me. Come back next week and I'll fix it, said Dr. Fields." She hadn't even looked up, her attention was so fixed on Annie.

"Next week, I said, I'm going to . . . ." and she paused allowing Annie to finish the familiar phrase.

"Australia!" Annie cheered.

Addison laughed, "That's right, Annie, Australia."

Derek couldn't help smiling at the lovely picture the two made. When she looked up to turn the page, however, and caught his gaze, his smile dissolved in the wake of the panicked feeling that sparked in his chest.

"Hi," she said, looking shocked.

"Hi."

"Well, Derek, Addison, Miss Annie," Brian beamed at his niece, "I need to check on the OR board." And with that, Dr, Wester fled the room.

"So, I'm guessing he didn't tell you that I was coming." Derek ventured, trying to appear normal in front of the two year old.

"No, no he didn't." Addison replied, struggling for the same objective. "I should have assumed, though. I guess I just didn't think about it."

"There have been a lot of other things to think about," Derek stated quietly.

"Yes, there have," she responded in a low voice.

"More Australia! More Australia!" Annie chanted, clapping her hands together clumsily.

Addison smiled down at her. "We'll finish our story, Ann, but first, I want you to meet someone." She gestured to Derek to come closer to the bed where she and Annie were situated. "Annie, this is Dr. Shepherd. You met him once before, but you were just a little baby, so you probably don't remember, but he is the one that is going to be taking care of you tomorrow."

Derek gently shook the little girl's hand. "Nice to see you again, Annie. How are you feeling today?"

"My head hurts. Are you going to fix it?" she asked in that completely honest way that only comes from small children.

"I'm going to do my very best," Derek promised her.

"Now, Australia?" Annie asked Addison hopefully.

"Now Australia," Addison replied, laughing. "But first, give me one minute to talk to Doctor Shepherd, okay?"

"No. Australia now!" Annie demanded.

"Just a moment, honey. Here, hold the book for me for one moment while I talk to Doctor Shepherd," she placated the girl. "I'll be right back."

The two stepped into the hall, shutting the door behind them.

"You couldn't have told me you were coming?" she asked.

"I didn't want to bother you."

"Right," she arched an eyebrow at him. She didn't know why she was surprised. If he didn't avoid confrontation like the Black Plague, then maybe the two of them would still be happily married and living together.

"Look, I'm just here for three days, Addison. I'll do the surgery tomorrow and fly out the following day." He looked at his wife, but her guarded expression was not giving away any hint as to her emotions. "Don't worry," he continued, "I'm not here to interrupt whatever you have going on with Mark; I'm just here to do my job, and then I'm gone."

"Derek," she started to protest, but he cut her off.

"But I will be dropping by the brownstone. I forgot some things there. Is tonight okay?"

"Fine, Derek," Addison replied in irritation at his refusal to engage her in any kind of meaningful conversation. "Whatever."

As he walked away, she turned back to Annie's room mumbling, "Tomorrow, I'm moving to Australia."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter of this story. Please keep the feedback coming, especially about whether or not you think that I'm keeping Shonda's creations in character. Some of the characters are more difficult for me to write, so your reviews would be especially helpful. Oh, and I realize that I'm sort of ripping off George's experience with running the Code team for Izzie, but I always wondered why she never had to do it, so there you have it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing.

"If I have to, like, listen to, like, one more, like, idiot blonde teenager say 'like', I'm going to Kevorkian someone," Christina threatened darkly, as she stirred her yogurt.

"Like, seriously," Meredith responded. At Christina's answering glare, she simply smirked.

"So much tulle. So many flowers. So many colors." George looked like he was shell-shocked.

"Oh, give it up O'Malley. You know you love it." Alex ribbed. "If you don't, I'll switch with you. Anything is better than just playing secretary and delivering labs all day."

"Whatever, Alex," Christina responded. "You just want to hit on the little teenie-bopper blondes in their skanky prom dresses."

"You know it," he replied with a wink.

"Will you all just shut up?" Izzie snapped. "Just. Shut. Up." And with that, Izzie took her tray and walked away from their table.

Meredith, George, Christina, and Alex looked at each other uncomfortably.

"What was that about?" Alex asked the other three.

"Guess the Code Team isn't going so well," Meredith postulated. The others nodded and continued to eat.

x x x x x

Derek walked the halls of New York Presbyterian. He wasn't really sure what to do with the rest of his evening, so he decided to visit his replacement and enjoy the familiarity of the hospital. This building had practically been his home for several years, and it felt good to be back, even if it was just for a few days.

"Dr. Shepherd," a voice behind him called. "I didn't know you were in town."

"Dr. Drane," he replied to the petite woman.

"Does this mean that I need to find another job?" she joked with him.

Derek laughed, "No, I'm only here for a few days on a specific case, but I thought I would drop by to see how you've been doing."

"Fine, fine," she assured him. "I'm enjoying New York more than I thought I would, thank goodness. I never really thought of myself as a city person, but the pizza here is just great."

"Yes, that it is." Derek smiled. He found the paradox of Dr. Drane being available to replace him on short notice because she needed to move to New York to be closer to her husband while he needed to leave in order to flee his wife both funny and painful, but mostly painful.

"So, fill me in what I've been missing around here," he jokingly commanded, needing to distract himself from his bitter inner monologue.

"Well," Dr. Drane began a summary of the more interesting surgeries and patients that had come through New York Pres in his absence, while Derek tried to pay attention.

x x x x x

"Code Blue, room 315. Code Blue, room 315," Alex heard over the PA system. He flipped the chart he was holding closed, shaking his head. Izzie was going to crack. That was the fourth code blue call he'd heard in the past half hour. He had to do something.

x x x x x

"Where are my earrings?" A teenager in a dress a shade of orange that was absolutely hideous with her coloring said as she frantically searched her purse and the gurney for her jewelry. "I know I put them on earlier, so where are they?" She was now checking the folds of her dress, as if somehow her skimpy dress that was barely covering her would hide her earrings.

Meredith was losing patience with the intoxicated eighteen year old. "Laura," she tried to get the girl's attention. "Laura, I need to see your arm. Please hold still."

"My earrings. I can't find my earrings."

"Laura, hold your arm still before you bleed all over your dress." There, Meredith thought, that got her attention. Punk kids. She hoped Derek was having a less aggravating day in New York.

x x x x x

"Thanks for showing me around, Vickie." In the past half hour, Derek and Dr. Drane had finally achieved a first-name basis.

"No, thank you Derek, for the opportunity to be here," she replied genuinely.

"You're welcome," he responded. "Though I can't help but worry that I'm going to regret having you as competition."

She laughed. "You flatter me, Dr. Shepherd."

"Not at all, Dr. Drane."

"Well, I need to prepare for surgery, but be sure to let me know if you need anything while you're here."

"I'll be sure to do that. It was good to see you."

"You too. Bye," she waved as she headed to the OR.

"Bye," Derek replied. He had truly enjoyed visiting with his successor. She was a lovely person and a gifted surgeon, and it had been fun to hear about some of his old patients and collegues.

Despite the lift his mood had taken, it had been a long, long day, so Derek decided that a cup of coffee was in order. He walked the familiar route to the nearest coffee machine and was adding cream and sugar when he heard two nurses that he didn't recognize talking.

"You mean, she knows?" the shorter one asked her friend, clearly concerned.

"Oh, she knows," her friend affirmed.

Hospital gossip, Derek thought. It never changes. He was about to walk away when he heard the taller nurse continue.

"I mean, Dr. Shepherd has always intimidated me—anyone who can perform surgery in Prada heels is a force to be reckoned with—but I actually feared for my life."

Derek tried to act nonchalant as he hung onto every word of the conversation.

"Well, she wouldn't have killed you in a hospital—too many people here could try to save your life," her friend tried to joke.

"Ha. Ha," the other woman deadpanned. "You weren't there. Luckily, I still had my pants on, but Mark was on top of me, so we couldn't exactly pretend that there was anything innocent about the situation."

"Yeah, I'd love to hear even Dr. Sloan sell that one."

"Oh, he tried. When she came into the on call room, she just looked at us in complete disgust, said, 'I should have expected this," and walked out."

"Yikes."

"Yeah. So, he practically leapt off me and chased after her. I don't really know what happened after that, but I heard that he cornered her in an exam room earlier today and that she was having none of it."

"She doesn't strike me as the kind of woman you screw around with, if you'll pardon the bad pun."

"No kidding. I'm terrified. I mean, how long do you think I need to avoid her before I can consider my life safe?"

"Well, this happened yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Then, I would say that you can probably stop watching your back in, oh, say, about two years, three months, and seventeen days."

"You are so funny," her friend made a face. "Just make sure that they have an open bar at my funeral, okay?"

"You bet," she responded, as the two friends walked out of Derek's earshot.

He was stunned. Mark had cheated on Addison. Mark and Addison were in a relationship where monogamy was expected. Addison . . . and Mark. Together. Did that mean that she hadn't cheated on him out of spite? Did that mean . . . Derek didn't think he could handle thinking about what that might mean. He had to get out of there.


	3. Chapter 3

"Dr. Bailey?"

"Yes, Dr. Karev," Bailey replied as she continued reading the chart in front of her.

"I was hoping that I could work the Code Team for an hour or two."

Bailey snapped the chart shut, "And why, Karev, would you think that I would assign you to the Code Team? Did I, or did I not, assign you to labs?"

"Yes, Dr. Bailey, you did, but"

"But nothing, Dr. Karev," Bailey interrupted. "I assigned you the labs for a reason, and I assigned the Code Team to Stevens for a reason. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, but," Alex began again.

"Karev, I'm not going to tell you again," Bailey began threatening, this time to be cut off by Alex.

"Dr. Bailey. If you do not switch Izzie off the Code Team, she is going to lose it. Do you want to be the resident responsible for the head of the Code Team having an emotional breakdown in the middle of a Code Blue?"

At her silence, he said, "I didn't think so. I'll find Izzie and let her know we're switching."

As he walked away, Dr. Bailey just shook her head. She had to get stuck with the needy interns.

x x x x x

"Ow! What the hell was that?" Mark yelled from the floor, temporarily blinded by the sucker punch that had just hit the side of his face. As he looked up, though, his question was answered. "Derek. I didn't know you were in New York. Did you fly all the way back here just to see me? You really didn't have to go to all that trouble. You could have just sent a card."

Derek had already turned and walked away. He hadn't even really planned on hitting Mark—it just kind of happened—but he sure as hell didn't want to talk to Mark.

x x x x x

"Addison," she heard him call her as he entered the room. Why hadn't she locked the door? "Addison." He came closer.

"Leave me alone, Mark."

"Your husband just sucker-punched me."

"Good," she replied, not really listening. "Wait, what?" She turned to look at him for the first time in their conversation.

"Laid me out on the floor without so much as a hello, or a good-bye for that matter."

"Derek hit you."

"The swelling and blood would indicate that—yes."

"He hit you." The disbelief was still evident in her voice.

"Yes, Addie, he hit me." If he had been hoping for her to react with some kind of concern for any pain he might be feeling, he was sorely disappointed. This stunned incredulity was not the reaction he had expected.

"He hit you," she stated to herself as she walked past him and out of the room.

Mark just sighed. He should have expected this.

x x x x x

"Izzie," Alex shook her out of her trance. "Izzie."

"Go away Evil Spawn."

"Bailey's switching us," he stated simply, handing her a stack of paperwork. "You're on labs."

She looked toward him, confusion evident on her features. "But, but, she said that I had to run the Code Team."

"She did say that, and you did run the Code Team, and now, she wants me to run the Code Team. So, go deliver those labs before she lands both of our asses in a sling."

Still slightly stunned, Izzie accepted the stack of files from Alex and moved toward the door. "Thank you."

With a slight smile, Alex just shooed her out the door, 'Go."

She smiled, nodded, and went to deliver the labs.

x x x x x

Derek was seething. Now was probably not the best time to return to his and Addison's brownstone in Midtown, but he wanted to grab his stuff and be out of there before her shift ended at the hospital. He couldn't deal with seeing her. From the nurses' conversation, it sounded as if Mark and Addison were together, at least until the nurse. How long had they been together? Was the night he found them really the first time, or had it been going on for years right under his nose?

He tried to drive all of these thoughts from his mind; they were impeding the packing process, and he need to pack quickly to get out of that house. Why couldn't he find his damn tackle box? It wasn't like Addison would have used it in his absence. He slammed the cabinet door closed in frustration, yelping when he didn't move his other hand out of the way quickly enough, and swearing again when he heard the front door open.

"Derek?" she called.

Crap. She must have seen his coat in the hall closet. Old habits die hard. He heard her heels coming down the stairs. "Derek?"

"I'm just looking for my tackle box," he stated, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"Okay," she said, uncertainty palpable in her voice. "I'm going to make some tea. Do you want some?"

"Don't, Addie," he said sharply. "Just don't."

"Don't what, Derek? I'm just asking if you want tea," she replied defensively.

"Don't act like everything is normal!" He yelled at her. "Don't stand there and act like this is any other day, like we are still living here, like you didn't stay with Mark after I left!" He hadn't meant to bring it up; somehow the words just flew out of his mouth.

"Exactly, Derek!" she yelled right back. "After you left. You _left_ me, Derek. Hell, you didn't even really leave me. Saying that you left me implies that I was actually present when you did the leaving. No, you cowardly bastard, you just packed and moved away while I was at the hospital _without telling me_! I had to come home, find all of your stuff gone, without so much as a note or a forwarding address for your mail! No, Derek, you do not get to yell at me for what I did after you _abandoned_ me!"

"You slept with my best friend!" he fired back as he advanced on her. "In our home, in our bed!"

"I am sorry, Derek," she screamed, despite the fact that he was only a few feet away. "It was a mistake, a huge, terrible, horrible mistake, and I would do anything I could to take it back, but I can't."

"No," he leveled. "You can't." He started to brush by her up the stairs.

"Great, Derek," she shot at him. "Take the easy way out and leave again."

"Easy!" he yelled again. "Easy! What about any of this situation has been easy? I uprooted my entire life and moved to Seattle because I couldn't stand to occupy the same plain of existence as my cheating wife and my Brutus of a best friend!" He moved closer to her, invading her personal space, "You destroyed my life, Addison. You were my life, and you destroyed it, so don't talk to me about easy."

"You are so full of it, Derek."

"What?" His voice was incredulous.

"I had ceased to be your life or even a minor aspect of your life for years, so don't give me that bullshit about me destroying your life."  
"Bullshit! How is that bullshit! We were married, Addie! Married! By definition, you were a major part of my life!"

"We had the certificate, Derek, but we were not married. Married people see each other! Married people talk to each other! Married people actually care about each other! We weren't doing any of those things!"

Derek suddenly stopped yelling. "Married people also have sex with each other. Just each other."

Addison simply shook her head as he walked away, "Derek . . . ."

"Not now, Addie."

She wished that phrase wasn't so familiar.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed; they help me write. The Muse is starting to take over this story, so I think we'll know the "ships" in a few more chapters.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Grey's Anatomy, I would have a much better wardrobe, as well as professionally dyed hair. (Meaning, no, I don't own it.)

x x x x x

"Today was long," George stared dumbly at the bar. "Very, very long."

"Yes, it was," Meredith agreed after downing a shot of tequila. She normally reserved tequila for when her life was closer to rock bottom, but Derek was on the opposite side of the country and a day surrounded by idiot teenagers in prom dresses simply required tequila.

"Thank God we have six months until Homecoming," Christina interjected. "I skipped my high school reunion for a reason."

"Seriously," Meredith agreed.

"Seriously, what?" Izzie asked as she came up to the bar.

"Seriously, you are awfully perky for a day leading the Code Team," Christina accused.

"Oh, well, Bailey switched me to labs."

"Bailey switched you to labs?" Meredith clarified, raising an eyebrow at Christina.

"Yeah."

"So, who ran the Code Team?" Christina pressed.

"Alex."

"Uh huh," Christina said as she and Meredith smirked and George gulped at his beer.

"What, you guys?" Izzie protested their suspicions. "Bailey switched us!" At their incredulous looks, she defended herself, "Seriously!"

x x x x x

"What are you doing?" Addison asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Derek just ignored her and continued to open and shut the cabinets and drawers.

"Derek," she said insistently.

"I'm looking for my tackle box, Addison!" he snapped. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"You're looking for your tackle box in our cutlery drawer, and you're acting like I'm the crazy one." She arched an eyebrow at him. "I don't think so, Derek."

He slammed the last drawer shut, put his palms on the counter, dropped his head, and let out a long sigh.

She quietly moved past him, opened a cabinet, poured him a glass of scotch and set it beside him. She then poured herself a glass of Jack Daniels and sipped, waiting for him to speak.

When it seemed that his tirade had officially reached a lull, she started moving around the kitchen again.

"What are you doing?" he finally looked up at her.

"Making dinner."

"You're making dinner?"

"Yes, Derek," she responded, irritated. "Typically, after work, people eat the meal known as dinner. As I do not have a short order cook on staff, I make my own dinner."

He was wise enough not to reply.

"Would you like some?" she asked in the same irritated tone.

"No, I should go," Derek lamely began to excuse himself from the situation, which was overwhelmingly both familiar and foreign.

"Derek," Addison said, losing her patience. "Just stay and eat. We both know that if you go back to the hotel, you aren't going to bother to eat, and I will not have you operating on Annie Shaw without the proper nutrition."

Derek nodded; she was right and had a valid point. He would be too lazy once he returned to the hotel to forage for food. Might as well eat now, even if the company was, well, Addison.

He folded up the cuffs of his sleeves as he watched her peel apart the lettuce. "What can I do?"

"Here," she passed him the carrot peeler.

"Thanks," he said, and he went to work peeling the carrots.

x x x x x

"So, what's Shepherd doing in New York?" Karev asked as he sidled up to the bar.

"His old boss called and asked him to do a surgery, and the Chief okayed it," Meredith replied.

"And he went, just like that?"

"Yeah," Meredith answered. "Something wrong with that?" Her defensive tone caught the attention of Christina, George, and Izzie as well.

"Nah," Alex said with a shrug.

"What?" Meredith asked. "What?" more insistently.

"Nothing," Alex responded carelessly. "I just figured the guy left New York for a reason to come all the way to Seattle, and it surprises me that he'd go back there for just anything."

Meredith looked slightly panicked. She had never given much, or really any, thought to why Derek had moved to Seattle. Seattle was great; who wouldn't want to live in Seattle?

Meredith turned to Christina for some kind of reassurance.

"McDreamy will come back to Seattle," she picked up on her cue. "He's just doing a favor for his old boss."

Meredith's shoulders relaxed, but she still looked uncomfortable.

"Why did Shepherd leave New York anyway?" Alex asked Meredith.

"A better opportunity?" Meredith offered.

"Seattle more opportunity than New York for a neurosurgeon," Alex shook his head incredulously. "I don't buy it. New York had to be able to pay him more than we do . . ." he paused, actually noticing Meredith's worried expression. "But, hey, whatever," he glanced at Izzie for some kind of validation. "It rains here. A lot. Maybe he likes the rain."

Izzie smacked him on the arm, George muttered, "Nice save," and Christina stared him down with "Enough from you Evil Spawn. Who invited you anyway?"

Alex just shrugged, but Izzie responded, "I did. I thought it would be fun if all of us could get to know each other better."

Christina rolled her eyes, gagged in her mouth, and watched Meredith take two shots of tequila.

x x x x x

"This is good," Derek attempted to fill the silence as he and Addison ate.

"Yes, it is," she agreed. "Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome," he smiled slightly at her.

She returned his smile, and the two of them sat in comfortable silence until Addison suddenly remembered that this was her estranged husband that had left without even leaving her updated "In Case of Emergancy" information.

She broke his gaze and, shifting uncomfortably in her chair, asked, "So, where did you go?"

Immediately defensive, Derek reacted, "Don't start, Addie."

Angry that he assumed she was picking a fight, she replied, "What, Derek? Are you worried I'm going to move to wherever it is you are hiding out in hopes of winning you back? Believe me, Derek, I'm in no hurry to chase after someone who has gone to so much trouble to get away from me." She looked at him, face flushed from anger and humiliation. "It was just a question," she said quietly.

She picked at her food a bit more and then gave up on eating. She was too upset anyway, so she took her dishes to the kitchen and began rinsing them off.

Derek followed her, and they fell silently into their old routine of washing and drying.

"Seattle."

She raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"That's where I moved, Seattle," he said, still drying the plate.

"Oh," she hesitated, scared to ask any other questions.

"Richard is the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace," he continued. "Remember, how he wanted to hire the two of us a couple years ago?" She nodded. "Well, that day, after, well," he paused awkwardly, "I called him and asked if he still needed a neurosurgeon. He said, 'of course' and," another pause, "that he also needed a brilliant neonatal surgeon."

After a few moments, when it was clear that Derek was content to stop his story there, Addison asked, "What did you say?"

Derek sighed. "I said that you had some family issues to address before you could consider leaving New York."

"And he left it at that?"

"Mmm, hmm," Derek nodded affirmatively. "I think, though, that he assumed we were more or less a package deal, and I didn't bother to clarify the situation."

Addison felt a spark of hope in her chest. Derek hadn't told Richard. He was angry enough to move across the country, but not so angry that he had told Richard. Maybe there was hope for them after all.

"How are Richard and Adele?" she asked tentatively.

Derek smiled. "They're good. You know Richard; he loves being busy. Being Chief really suits him. He loves his hospital and his people."

"That sounds like him," Addison commented.

"Yeah," Derek agreed. "And, Adele, as always, is his pillar, keeping him fed and functioning, so he can run his world." He paused. "She asks about you, you know."

"Oh, that's sweet of her. Please tell her I say hello." Addison turned toward Derek, the dishes finally finished.

"I always do," he smiled.

x x x x x

"Alex is right, you know," Meredith drunkenly informed Christina.

"If I ever hear you give Evil Spawn credit for anything ever again, I'm going to smack you." Christina informed her.

"Well he is!" Meredith insisted. "I don't know anything about Derek!"

Christina rolled her eyes. She was remembering why she used to never get stuck as the designated driver. Being sober when hanging out with drunk people was not fun.

"He could be a serial killer, and I wouldn't know," Meredith was still talking. "I mean, seriously," she leaned closer to Christina, "the morning after, you know, after I met him, I didn't even remember his name."

Christina just sighed, turned to Meredith and said, "So what? You had a one night stand. No one is required to know anything about their one night stand except whether or not he was any good. Was he?"

Meredith nodded drunkenly.

"Good, then you don't have a problem," Christina spoke authoritatively. "So, you're going about it a bit backwards. Most people in relationships do names and then sex, but that's just chronology. You have a dreamy-looking, good-in-bed neurosurgeon who is crazy about you. What else do you need to know?"

Meredith shrugged. "It would still be nice to know if he's a serial killer."

x x x x x

"Well, I should go," Derek told Addison as they finished their traditional post-dinner drinks.

Addison nodded and walked him to the door.

He put on his coat, "Thanks for dinner."

"You're welcome," she murmured. "I miss you." The words were out of her mouth before she had even consciously thought them.

"Yeah," he said.

Then somehow, their lips met, tentatively at first, but then his hands were moving over her body and hers were running through his hair, and all signs of hesitation vanished.


End file.
